TT RAM MOHAN's comments on the Indian economy, banking and current affairs

Monday, April 24, 2017

A tribute to my late father

I lost my father, T T Vijayaraghavan, a veteran journalist, last December. It's turned out to be more shattering than I could have ever imagined.

I grew up with the smell of newspapers and books around me and the goings-on in the world of journalism were the staple of conversations at home. I have spent time in the corporate world and in academics but have never quite managed to get the journalism bug out of my system. I remain at heart a journalist, thanks largely to father's influence.

Here's a little tribute I penned in EPW. A former colleague of father's has responded with a very touching letter to the editor.

PS: As the tribute is behind a pay wall, I reproduce it below:

Other Days, Other Times Remembering T T Vijayaraghavan

T T Vijayaraghavan (TTV), who passed away recently, was a member of the core group of journalists that launched the Economic Times (ET)
in 1961. TTV joined the paper as assistant editor and served it with
distinction for two decades. The other key members at the inception of
the paper were: P S Hariharan (editor), T K Seshadri (news editor),
Hannan Ezekiel and A R Rao (both assistant editors).

The idea of producing a financial daily in India was altogether novel
at the time. There were serious doubts as to whether there was a large
enough market for such a paper. It is to the credit of Shanti Prasad
Jain, the then proprietor of Bennett Coleman and Company, that he gave
the idea his fullest backing, and supported its losses for several
years. Jain was keen that the fledgling daily attract the best talent,
so he encouraged the management to offer its recruits terms that were
superior to those of the Times of India (ToI), something that caused heartburn at the group’s flagship.
TheETstaff were lodged in the third floor of the Times of India
building in Mumbai, along with those of ToI. A striking feature was the
long corridor with a line of cabins with Belgian glass to the left (on
the opposite side was the ToI newsroom and further down theETnewsroom). These cabins, which had a certain aura about them, housed the editors of ToI andETand the assistant editors.
TTV’s background had prepared him well for the assignment. He had
obtained his Master of Arts in economics from the prestigious Presidency
College in the then state of Madras. B D Goenka, son of Indian Express founder Ramnath Goenka, was a classmate at the intermediary level and G Kasturi, later to become a legendary editor at the Hindu, at the masters. TTV developed a friendship with Kasturi that lasted a lifetime.
After a brief stint in government, in Shimla, TTV plunged into journalism, joining the Hindu as
a reporter before being transferred to the editorial desk. He spent 10
years with the paper, imbibing the basics of news gathering, layout, and
analysis from personalities such as Kasturi Srinivasan (its then
editor), the formidable editorial writer N Raghunathan and K Balaraman,
later to become the paper’s celebrated Washington correspondent. TTV
remained unshaken in his conviction that no Indian paper could match the
Hindu in thoroughness and credibility.
From the Hindu, TTV moved to the Eastern Economist, a financial weekly published from Delhi and edited by E P W Da Costa (no connection with this journal!). Long before the Economic & Political Weekly made its mark, the Eastern Economist had established itself as a quality publication.
TTV’s five-year stint at the Eastern Economist proved useful
to the launch of ET. He was well-tuned to a range of economic events
that would require coverage and comment. The core group spent several
months in coming out with dummy runs before the paper was formally
launched.
One of TTV’s early contributions was to start a page for book
reviews. He remained in charge of the page throughout his association
with ET. He wrote a column, “Men and Ideas” in which he profiled
important personalities in the news. The response he got was
heart-warming: a profile of Homi Bhabha fetched a dinner invitation and a
folio of Bhabha’s paintings.
Some five years after the paper was set up, Hariharan left and D K
Rangnekar took over as editor. Rangnekar, who had a doctorate from the
London School of Economics, was that exceptional journalist who combined
academic depth with the racy writing that is the hallmark of
journalism. The paper gained in stature in his time. ET’s editorials
came to be closely followed by the powers-that-be in New Delhi.
One incident that comes to mind is when the Shiv Sena went on a
rampage against people from the South, beating up Malayali hawkers in
the Flora Fountain area.ETcarried an editorial, “Glaring
at Noon,” borrowing the title from Arthur Koestler’s famous novel about
the Stalinist era. The edit hinted at collusion between the state
government and the Shiv Sena. A day or two later, Rangnekar got a call
from the chief minister (S B Chavan, as I recall). The chief minister
fumed about the editorial; P N Haksar had called and conveyed the Prime
Minister’s displeasure. How couldEThave painted such a dark picture of the city? Rangnekar told him quietly—so he confided in TTV—“I saw it with my own eyes.”
TheETof that era was a very different paper from what
it is today. News was mostly macroeconomic, business or corporate news
was secondary. The editorial policy hewed closely to the Nehruvian line.
Socialism (and a prominent role for the public sector), secularism and
non-alignment were taken as verities.
Mornings at home began with a dissection ofETand
other papers. Why had ToI chosen to spread the main story over four
columns? Two columns would have been more appropriate; the Indian Express
had got it right. Why had another story got buried in page five in the
ToI? ET’s choice of page one was correct. The box item in a paper was
plain sensationalism. And so on. It was an era in which sobriety,
accuracy and a commitment to the public good were the touchstones for
news coverage and commentary.
TTV also made his contribution to financial journalism in Tamil. For
several years, he wrote a monthly column for the Tamil magazine Deepam
founded by the well-known Tamil litterateur, Naa Parthasarathy. A
connoisseur of Carnatic music, he wrote reviews of concerts for the Evening News, the afternoon paper run by the Times group and also on the cultural scene for the ToI.
TTV leftETin 1981, just a couple of years before he
was due to retire. He briefly edited the management journal of the
Bombay Management Association. He revived his association with Eastern Economist,
then edited by Swaminathan Aiyar, producing a weekly newsletter that
focused on developments in various sectors of the economy. He also wrote
for the Indian Post and Business Standard.
I may be permitted to end on a more personal note. I started contributing toETin
1987 while a student in New York. I was appointed stringer in New York
for the paper in 1988. On my return to India, I continued to write for
the paper. I began a fortnightly column forETin 1997 which continued until 2013. It is fair to say that the family association withETspans most of its history. It is a gratifying thought.
- See more at: http://www.epw.in/journal/2017/12/commentary/other-days-other-times.html#sthash.0HoyPyja.dpuf

The idea of producing a financial
daily in India was altogether novel at the time. There were serious doubts as
to whether there was a large enough market for such a paper. It is to the
credit of Shanti Prasad Jain, the then proprietor of Bennett Coleman and
Company, that he gave the idea his fullest backing, and supported its losses
for several years. Jain was keen that the fledgling daily attract the best
talent, so he encouraged the management to offer its recruits terms that were
superior to those of the Times of India (ToI), something that caused
heartburn at the group’s flagship.

TheETstaff were
lodged in the third floor of the Times of India building in Mumbai,
along with those of ToI. A striking feature was the long corridor with a line
of cabins with Belgian glass to the left (on the opposite side was the ToI
newsroom and further down theETnewsroom). These cabins, which
had a certain aura about them, housed the editors of ToI andETand
the assistant editors.

TTV’s background had prepared him
well for the assignment. He had obtained his Master of Arts in economics from
the prestigious Presidency College in the then state of Madras. B D Goenka, son
of Indian Express founder Ramnath Goenka, was a classmate at the
intermediary level and G Kasturi, later to become a legendary editor at the Hindu,
at the masters. TTV developed a friendship with Kasturi that lasted a lifetime.

After a brief stint in government,
in Shimla, TTV plunged into journalism, joining the Hindu as a reporter
before being transferred to the editorial desk. He spent 10 years with the
paper, imbibing the basics of news gathering, layout, and analysis from
personalities such as Kasturi Srinivasan (its then editor), the formidable
editorial writer N Raghunathan and K Balaraman, later to become the paper’s
celebrated Washington correspondent. TTV remained unshaken in his conviction
that no Indian paper could match the Hindu in thoroughness and
credibility.

From the Hindu, TTV moved to
the Eastern Economist, a financial weekly published from Delhi and
edited by E P W Da Costa (no connection with this journal!). Long before the Economic
& Political Weekly made its mark, the Eastern Economist had
established itself as a quality publication.

TTV’s five-year stint at the Eastern
Economist proved useful to the launch of ET. He was well-tuned to a range
of economic events that would require coverage and comment. The core group
spent several months in coming out with dummy runs before the paper was
formally launched.

One of TTV’s early contributions was
to start a page for book reviews. He remained in charge of the page throughout
his association with ET. He wrote a column, “Men and Ideas” in which he
profiled important personalities in the news. The response he got was
heart-warming: a profile of Homi Bhabha fetched a dinner invitation and a folio
of Bhabha’s paintings.

Some five years after the paper was
set up, Hariharan left and D K Rangnekar took over as editor. Rangnekar, who
had a doctorate from the London School of Economics, was that exceptional
journalist who combined academic depth with the racy writing that is the
hallmark of journalism. The paper gained in stature in his time. ET’s
editorials came to be closely followed by the powers-that-be in New Delhi.

One incident that comes to mind is
when the Shiv Sena went on a rampage against people from the South, beating up
Malayali hawkers in the Flora Fountain area.ETcarried an
editorial, “Glaring at Noon,” borrowing the title from Arthur Koestler’s famous
novel about the Stalinist era. The edit hinted at collusion between the state
government and the Shiv Sena. A day or two later, Rangnekar got a call from the
chief minister (S B Chavan, as I recall). The chief minister fumed about the
editorial; P N Haksar had called and conveyed the Prime Minister’s
displeasure. How couldEThave painted such a dark picture of the
city? Rangnekar told him quietly—so he confided in TTV—“I saw it with my own
eyes.”

TheETof that era was
a very different paper from what it is today. News was mostly macroeconomic,
business or corporate news was secondary. The editorial policy hewed closely to
the Nehruvian line. Socialism (and a prominent role for the public sector),
secularism and non-alignment were taken as verities.

Mornings at home began with a
dissection ofETand other papers. Why had ToI chosen to spread
the main story over four columns? Two columns would have been more appropriate;
the Indian Express had got it right. Why had another story got buried in
page five in the ToI? ET’s choice of page one was correct. The box item in a
paper was plain sensationalism. And so on. It was an era in which sobriety,
accuracy and a commitment to the public good were the touchstones for news
coverage and commentary.

TTV also made his contribution to
financial journalism in Tamil. For several years, he wrote a monthly column for
the Tamil magazine Deepam founded by the well-known Tamil litterateur,
Naa Parthasarathy. A connoisseur of Carnatic music, he wrote reviews of
concerts for the Evening News, the afternoon paper run by the Times
group and also on the cultural scene for the ToI.

TTV leftETin 1981,
just a couple of years before he was due to retire. He briefly edited the
management journal of the Bombay Management Association. He revived his
association with Eastern Economist, then edited by Swaminathan Aiyar,
producing a weekly newsletter that focused on developments in various sectors
of the economy. He also wrote for the Indian Post and Business
Standard.

I may be permitted to end on a more
personal note. I started contributing toETin 1987 while a
student in New York. I was appointed stringer in New York for the paper in
1988. On my return to India, I continued to write for the paper. I began a
fortnightly column forETin 1997 which continued until 2013. It
is fair to say that the family association withETspans most of
its history. It is a gratifying thought.

T T Vijayaraghavan (TTV), who passed away recently, was a member of the core group of journalists that launched the Economic Times (ET)
in 1961. TTV joined the paper as assistant editor and served it with
distinction for two decades. The other key members at the inception of
the paper were: P S Hariharan (editor), T K Seshadri (news editor),
Hannan Ezekiel and A R Rao (both assistant editors).
The idea of producing a financial daily in India was altogether novel
at the time. There were serious doubts as to whether there was a large
enough market for such a paper. It is to the credit of Shanti Prasad
Jain, the then proprietor of Bennett Coleman and Company, that he gave
the idea his fullest backing, and supported its losses for several
years. Jain was keen that the fledgling daily attract the best talent,
so he encouraged the management to offer its recruits terms that were
superior to those of the Times of India (ToI), something that caused heartburn at the group’s flagship.
TheETstaff were lodged in the third floor of the Times of India
building in Mumbai, along with those of ToI. A striking feature was the
long corridor with a line of cabins with Belgian glass to the left (on
the opposite side was the ToI newsroom and further down theETnewsroom). These cabins, which had a certain aura about them, housed the editors of ToI andETand the assistant editors.
TTV’s background had prepared him well for the assignment. He had
obtained his Master of Arts in economics from the prestigious Presidency
College in the then state of Madras. B D Goenka, son of Indian Express founder Ramnath Goenka, was a classmate at the intermediary level and G Kasturi, later to become a legendary editor at the Hindu, at the masters. TTV developed a friendship with Kasturi that lasted a lifetime.
After a brief stint in government, in Shimla, TTV plunged into journalism, joining the Hindu as
a reporter before being transferred to the editorial desk. He spent 10
years with the paper, imbibing the basics of news gathering, layout, and
analysis from personalities such as Kasturi Srinivasan (its then
editor), the formidable editorial writer N Raghunathan and K Balaraman,
later to become the paper’s celebrated Washington correspondent. TTV
remained unshaken in his conviction that no Indian paper could match the
Hindu in thoroughness and credibility.
From the Hindu, TTV moved to the Eastern Economist, a financial weekly published from Delhi and edited by E P W Da Costa (no connection with this journal!). Long before the Economic & Political Weekly made its mark, the Eastern Economist had established itself as a quality publication.
TTV’s five-year stint at the Eastern Economist proved useful
to the launch of ET. He was well-tuned to a range of economic events
that would require coverage and comment. The core group spent several
months in coming out with dummy runs before the paper was formally
launched.
One of TTV’s early contributions was to start a page for book
reviews. He remained in charge of the page throughout his association
with ET. He wrote a column, “Men and Ideas” in which he profiled
important personalities in the news. The response he got was
heart-warming: a profile of Homi Bhabha fetched a dinner invitation and a
folio of Bhabha’s paintings.
Some five years after the paper was set up, Hariharan left and D K
Rangnekar took over as editor. Rangnekar, who had a doctorate from the
London School of Economics, was that exceptional journalist who combined
academic depth with the racy writing that is the hallmark of
journalism. The paper gained in stature in his time. ET’s editorials
came to be closely followed by the powers-that-be in New Delhi.
One incident that comes to mind is when the Shiv Sena went on a
rampage against people from the South, beating up Malayali hawkers in
the Flora Fountain area.ETcarried an editorial, “Glaring
at Noon,” borrowing the title from Arthur Koestler’s famous novel about
the Stalinist era. The edit hinted at collusion between the state
government and the Shiv Sena. A day or two later, Rangnekar got a call
from the chief minister (S B Chavan, as I recall). The chief minister
fumed about the editorial; P N Haksar had called and conveyed the Prime
Minister’s displeasure. How couldEThave painted such a dark picture of the city? Rangnekar told him quietly—so he confided in TTV—“I saw it with my own eyes.”
TheETof that era was a very different paper from what
it is today. News was mostly macroeconomic, business or corporate news
was secondary. The editorial policy hewed closely to the Nehruvian line.
Socialism (and a prominent role for the public sector), secularism and
non-alignment were taken as verities.
Mornings at home began with a dissection ofETand
other papers. Why had ToI chosen to spread the main story over four
columns? Two columns would have been more appropriate; the Indian Express
had got it right. Why had another story got buried in page five in the
ToI? ET’s choice of page one was correct. The box item in a paper was
plain sensationalism. And so on. It was an era in which sobriety,
accuracy and a commitment to the public good were the touchstones for
news coverage and commentary.
TTV also made his contribution to financial journalism in Tamil. For
several years, he wrote a monthly column for the Tamil magazine Deepam
founded by the well-known Tamil litterateur, Naa Parthasarathy. A
connoisseur of Carnatic music, he wrote reviews of concerts for the Evening News, the afternoon paper run by the Times group and also on the cultural scene for the ToI.
TTV leftETin 1981, just a couple of years before he
was due to retire. He briefly edited the management journal of the
Bombay Management Association. He revived his association with Eastern Economist,
then edited by Swaminathan Aiyar, producing a weekly newsletter that
focused on developments in various sectors of the economy. He also wrote
for the Indian Post and Business Standard.
I may be permitted to end on a more personal note. I started contributing toETin
1987 while a student in New York. I was appointed stringer in New York
for the paper in 1988. On my return to India, I continued to write for
the paper. I began a fortnightly column forETin 1997 which continued until 2013. It is fair to say that the family association withETspans most of its history. It is a gratifying thought.
- See more at: http://www.epw.in/journal/2017/12/commentary/other-days-other-times.html#sthash.0HoyPyja.dpuf

4 comments:

Mimi
said...

Dear SirMy heartfelt condolences to you and your family As your tribute is behind fire wall I could not read However the letter, which is readily available , says all Truly a great man! I do recollect reading his columns in my formative educational years especially being an Econ student I did not know that he and you were related - father and son ! I have been regular reader of your columns and blog posts I greatly appreciate your altogether different perspective and bold views on extant issues His legacy will live in you and will be carried forward May his soul rest in peace

I am deeply touched by your note, thanks very much for your kind sentiments! There cannot be many who are acquainted with my father's writings as well as my own. Could I request you to drop me a line at ttr@iima.ac.in

Sir Please accept my deepest condolences for your family's lossRead your article second time today in newspaper, liked it as much as the first one.May you and your family be comforted by the outpouring of love surrounding you.